That same year Mazda entered the sport utility segment with its compact Tribute, a distinctive adaptation of the Ford Escape that delivered completely redesigned sheetmetal, unique interior styling upgrades and much better seats.
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| Mazda faces fierce competition in almost every category. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press) |
It was followed in 2002 by the Protegé5, a forerunner of the now popular 5-door sport wagon class.
"Protegé5 was a big gamble," said Young. "It opened up an entirely new segment. The right package came along when there was virtually no competition."
But we're close to halfway through the new millennium's first decade now, and much has changed. Mazda faces fierce competition in almost every category, less the budget roadster segment which will nevertheless face at least one viable alternative when Pontiac's Solstice goes on sale next year. Not only is the competition tough, but the market is at an all-time low.
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| The market may be down 10 percent, but at the end of September Mazda's year to date (YTD) sales were up 14.2% over the same time last year. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press) |
"All the '99 through '01 products were being introduced in an upmarket," said Young. "Now the market is down about 10 percent, but on the strength of product we've been able to trend opposite to the industry. As of the end of September our year to date (YTD) sales are up about 14.2 percent over last year."
That's amazing! Especially when factoring in arch-rival Honda was down 9 percent as of September's close and import sales leader Toyota was relatively flat with a YTD gain of only 1.1 percent. Nissan, which has seen a turnaround of its own in recent years, was actually down 1.4 percent compared to last year, while Korea's darling Hyundai was off by a substantial 16 percent as of September 30. Just for reference, GM was down 4.6 percent, Ford in the negative 13.4 and Chrysler down 0.9 percent, despite the introduction of its extremely popular 300 series sedan.